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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > AUDIO/VIDEO + BLUETOOTH + Electronics/Alarm/Software > Could a dying battery be bad for the electronics?



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      01-05-2011, 07:21 AM   #1
tracerit
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Could a dying battery be bad for the electronics?

My 2006 E90 with 49k miles is still running on the same battery from day 1 (manufacteured sometime in 2005). Within the last year I've had the front door lock busted (probable actuator failure, fixing it this week) and my adaptive headlights stuck pointing right one night (but fixed the next morning when i started the car up).

I'll be getting a new battery (and registering it) in a few weeks but Im just curious.
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      01-05-2011, 12:49 PM   #2
scottp999
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Yes - I played around with a light weight battery in my car and after a year the thing started to be marginal at best:

1) Comfort Access would not work
2) Radio Volume would just shut off at random times
3) ABS warning lights would come on
4) Sunroof would sometimes open, sometimes get an error when you tried to open, and sometimes get stuck open. The error for the sunroof showed voltage issues.

Put the stock battery back in and all electronic issues are gone.
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      01-05-2011, 02:21 PM   #3
fdriller9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scottp999 View Post
Yes - I played around with a light weight battery in my car and after a year the thing started to be marginal at best:

1) Comfort Access would not work
2) Radio Volume would just shut off at random times
3) ABS warning lights would come on
4) Sunroof would sometimes open, sometimes get an error when you tried to open, and sometimes get stuck open. The error for the sunroof showed voltage issues.

Put the stock battery back in and all electronic issues are gone.
Did you register the battery? And don't debate here, there is already a huge thread in the general section. Yes or no, please.


OP, our cars will put some modules into a power save type mode and prevent further battery discharge.

1) To prevent you from being stranded.
2) To prevent damage to the battery from low voltage.

Door actuator problem is a known problem and isn't related to the battery as far as I know. Not sure of the headlight problem though.
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      01-05-2011, 06:27 PM   #4
scottp999
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Originally Posted by ********* View Post
Did you register the battery? And don't debate here, there is already a huge thread in the general section. Yes or no, please.
Yes I did. I registered after the lightweight battery was put in, and I registered again when I took it out and put the OEM battery back in.
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      01-05-2011, 06:41 PM   #5
fdriller9
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Originally Posted by scottp999 View Post
Yes I did. I registered after the lightweight battery was put in, and I registered again when I took it out and put the OEM battery back in.
Can I ask what manufacture/spec?

I'm going to be putting in a Braille 21lb lightweight battery tomorrow but the only thing that concerns me is the CCAs since I'm Jersey.

I'll probably end up using a battery heater/tender combo
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      01-05-2011, 07:09 PM   #6
scottp999
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ********* View Post
Can I ask what manufacture/spec?

I'm going to be putting in a Braille 21lb lightweight battery tomorrow but the only thing that concerns me is the CCAs since I'm Jersey.

I'll probably end up using a battery heater/tender combo
Braille 21lb lightweight battery. It's now a 21lb (+ holder) paperweight in my garage. It worked well for about a year. Maybe I got a bad one. I do a lot of short trips and only drove the car once or twice a week, so that may have impacted it's life expectancy.

I have a battery tender and would hook it up if I went more than about 5 days without driving the car.

I have 17,500 miles on the car in 3 years and 8 months.
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      01-05-2011, 08:12 PM   #7
fdriller9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scottp999 View Post
Braille 21lb lightweight battery. It's now a 21lb (+ holder) paperweight in my garage. It worked well for about a year. Maybe I got a bad one. I do a lot of short trips and only drove the car once or twice a week, so that may have impacted it's life expectancy.

I have a battery tender and would hook it up if I went more than about 5 days without driving the car.

I have 17,500 miles on the car in 3 years and 8 months.
Yea the aH reading is about a 1/3 of the oem battery so short distance, 1 or 2 times a week definitely affected the life.

Our cars don't charge the battery until the engine is properly warmed up. So short distance driving doesn't charge the battery.
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      01-06-2011, 10:35 PM   #8
SamfromTX
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Changing your battery

If you plan to do it yourself this post is very helpful in changing your battery - it's in the DIY Guides portion of this forum:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...hlight=battery

Posted by GeneralXception on 08-14-2009
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